Was recently at the inaugural of a Primary School in a rural setting. The location was reminiscent of childhood. At some distance away were the rotating sails of windmills, quietly energising the turbines, generating electricity. Interestingly the audience too had several regulars who tap the air-force through Pranayama to energise themselves!
Here is an excerpt from the key note address. It is a narrative on how a one-teacher rural primary school perfected a pedagogy to nurture imagination and creativity of young minds in simple ways.
The children assembled outdoor late evening with the full moon shining above. The Teacher asked, "Dear children do you see the full moon, the beautiful scene in the sky that brings smiles and cheers all round? Remember, when you smile, the whole family also smiles. How many of you would want to keep your parents happy?" The whole class lifted their hands; when the teacher went further ‘the moon is the natural satellite of planet earth’- the class surprisingly into a moon lab!
She drew the first day of the moon, the second day, the third day and so on and said “Today is the 15th day, which is why you are seeing the full moon radiating beautiful light." The next question; "From where does the moon get its light?" There was no reply. She herself answered that the moon gets the light from the sun.
Admirable indeed was the foresight of the teacher in organizing the class on full moon as a practical teaching tool blending a human value as well as scientific temper.
